


Chocolate Lab

by bookwormchocaholic



Series: Chocaholic Series [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2016-10-21
Packaged: 2018-08-22 08:56:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8280172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookwormchocaholic/pseuds/bookwormchocaholic
Summary: Inspired by an ask/prompt by still-searching47: Chocaholic Verse: Would they ever get a pet now they are moving in together? Maybe they dogsit Pongo for a night as a trial run, but dogs are allergic to chocolate and that causes some concern, and then maybe they get a nice goldfish or something instead.onceuponanovel: You could name it Mocha.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta-ed, expect mistakes.

It had taken Belle a little over a month to get all moved into Silas’ house, which he insisted was her home too. And it was. But after living in the library’s old caretaker’s apartment, it would take her a little longer to grow accustomed to living in the sprawling 19th century mansion. Never had she been in a house so large; she didn’t even have enough personal belongings to fill each room. Her little nick-knacks looked comically out of place compared to his. 

The first night after she was officially moved in, Belle and Silas sipped homemade hot chocolate while listening to an album of Itzhak Perlman’s and watched the flames dance in the fireplace. Their hot chocolate was from a Regency Era recipe, something similar to what Jane Austen herself would have drunk. Fixed on a stove, bars of dark chocolate would be melted in a saucepan and cream would be added, whipped until blended together. Silas added some of his own finishing touches, of course, and served it in two cups. 

They were on the sofa, stretched out. Him underneath, her reclining against him, wedged between his firm thighs. 

“Mmm.” Belle made a noise of contentment. It couldn’t get any better than this. 

“What do you think of dogs?” Silas asked. 

Belle squinted, puzzled by his out of the blue question. He may as well have asked her what she thought of chickens or goats. Since they had started dated they had discussed a number of subjects, from personal goals to politics to their worst memories ever. Never once had they talked about animals. 

“Um, I like them. Why?” She wondered. 

“No reason.” His legs tensed on either side of her and she knew he was holding back. Subtly was not Silas’ forte.

Belle laid her mug of hot chocolate aside and scooted to the end of the sofa that way she could see his face. “Tell me.” She looked at him expectantly. He had made her happy and, if it were in her power, she wanted to do the same for him. 

Silas’ cheeks reddened. He too put his mug down and he smiled bashfully. “When I was young, I had a dog. A mixed breed, but it was a fine companion. I named it Prince Charlie. He was one of the few friends I had. He lived to be ten.” His brogue deepened and he appeared forlorn. “When I was married, my ex and I had a dog. Hamish Macbeth…but she took him in the divorce.”

Her heart melted. From what she was able to piece together, she surmised that his ex, Milah, was a cold hearted bitch who had left him without warning, for a younger man. Belle sincerely doubted that woman was incapable of human feelings, so in all likelihood, Milah had taken the dog just to spite Silas. His separation and divorce had occurred over fifteen years ago, which meant that poor Hamish Macbeth had long since passed. 

That was a long time for a dog-lover to be alone. 

“Why haven’t you gotten another dog?” Belle wondered, resting her hand on his bad ankle, tracing the scar beneath the sock. “I mean, it’s been quite a while.”

Silas sighed. “Well, at first I wasn’t ready. Then I was busy getting the pawnshop off the ground. Then I dated someone who didn’t like dogs. After all of that, I rarely came home because the house was so empty and dogs require a lot of attention.” He paused, collecting his thoughts, and then he continued. “But we are both home quite a bit now.”

Belle bit her lip to stop herself from giggling. He couldn’t help it, but he was being cute. The fearsome Mr. Gold was asking his girlfriend for permission to get a dog. It was sweet. How could she refuse? She had a dog when she was a girl; a Golden Retriever, Casey. Casey had been the perfect family pet. He died young, but he still held a special place in her heart. When Casey had died, it was only a couple of years before she went to college, so to get another dog and then leave it for long periods of time would have been wrong. After college, she lived in apartments that didn’t allow pets and really, dogs needed space to run around and get exercise. 

But now was the timing was perfect. 

Edging forward, Belle threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “I’d love to get a dog. It could be our furbaby.” 

“Our what?” 

“Our furbaby. I mean, we can’t have a baby. So the dog could be ours.” Belle suggested. 

Silas’ face softened. He looked as if she had given him the world. “Sounds like a plan. But we will have to be careful about our chocolate sexcapades. Dogs are deathly allergic.”

“That’s right.” Belle thought about that for a minute. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt a dog. “Well, when our future furbaby is at home, we can limit our chocolate sexcapades to our bedroom.”

“What about when he wants to sleep with us?” He asked. “I mean, when he first comes to live with us, he might want to sleep on our bed. He’ll probably be confused due to all of the changes.”

Belle swallowed a laugh. This was just precious. Silas wanted the dog to sleep on their bed, which was fine. She wanted a dog, but she couldn’t very well give up her beloved chocolate. Chocolate was what brought her and Silas together and was what kept their relationship interesting. Truth be told, she didn’t particularly want to make love while the dog was on the bed or in the room. That would be too weird. 

There had to be a compromise. 

She held up a finger. “Okay, we can limit our chocolate sexcapades to one of the guestrooms and we can always keep the door closed.”

Silas slowly nodded, a wicked grin inching across his handsome face. “A chocolate sexcapades room. I like it.” He cupped the back of her head and guided her to him, capturing her mouth, sipping the hot chocolate remnants off of her lips. “What do you say to christening the room now?” 

Belle eased off of his lap, grasped his hand, and led him off to one of the guestrooms. 

Which was henceforth known as the Chocolate Sex Room. 

#

Belle and Silas waited until the weekend before taking a trip to the animal shelter. The second they entered the building, Belle wrinkled her nose at the unrelenting stench of urine and feces, but she supposed that was normal. 

David Nolan, the manager of the animal shelter, led them to the room that’s walls was lined with kennels and encouraged them to take their time. Dozens of dogs barked and whined, tails wagged wildly, as she and Silas moved down the corridor. So many breeds, so many traumatized brown eyes gazing up at her. 

They all needed a home. 

Belle didn’t know where to start and clung to her boyfriend’s arm for comfort.

Silas’ cane clicked along the floor, his expression was grim. He was as lost as she felt. 

“Do you want one that reminds you of one of the dogs that you had?” Belle asked. 

Silas quickly shook his head. “Prince Charlie and Hamish Macbeth were special; I don’t want to replace them.”

She understood. Though it had been years since Casey died, it wouldn’t feel right if she got another Golden Retriever. 

Silas’ shoulders slumped and Belle regretted coming. They ought to have done a little more research and narrowed down what they were looking for. Perhaps a dog wasn’t a good idea. After all, they’d have to give up many of their chocolate sexcapades and change their lifestyle around. A fish would be easier. They could buy a huge aquarium and select some exotic fishes. Watching them swim would be relaxing. 

Though, one couldn’t hug or play with a fish.

Silas scanned the area, his mouth drawn into a pout. Yes, this was definitely a bad idea. He had gotten his hopes up. Her boyfriend rarely asked for anything so she hated that he was disappointed. 

Belle was about to suggest they return another day when out of the corner of her eye she noticed a large, dark listless form stretched out on the floor. Releasing her boyfriend’s arm, she advanced towards that cage. 

That dog was the only one in the whole building that didn’t bark or wag its tail. He laid there, detached from the rest of the world. 

David chose that moment to reenter the room. “That’s Mocha.” He explained. “His owner died suddenly and he misses her greatly.” 

Belle peered at the paper hanging from the cage door and smiled. Chocolate Lab. She had never been a big believer of fate or destiny, but she knew that this was a sign.  
Mocha was meant for them. 

“Silas, look at this one.” She beckoned him over. 

Silas joined her and he chuckled as he read the information. “How much, Nolan?”

David hemmed and hawed. “Well, I have to be honest.” He stuffed his hands into his jean’s pockets. “Mocha is severely depressed. He is dying of a broken heart. I don’t feel right selling him to you knowing that he won’t make it.”

Belle waved him off. “No, Mocha is the one. We want him.”

“But-” David began to protest. 

One severe look from Silas and David fell silent. 

Belle squatted, resting her hands on her knees. “Mocha, you are coming home with us.”

The dog’s ear twitched on hearing his name, but he gave no impression that he understood. Or that he cared. His soft, golden eyes were unblinking and his chest rose and fell at a leisurely pace. The soft folds of his lips drooped and his nose looked dry. 

Belle knew it wouldn’t be easy, but between the two of them, she and Silas would find a way to bring Mocha back to the land of the living. They would be a family.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mariequitecontrairie- New prompt: Mocha settles in at home. Hijinx ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta-ed, expect mistakes.

Belle had it in her head that when she and Silas brought their new furbaby home, that Mocha would instantly heal from his traumas and fall in love with them. The mournful look would be banished and his eyes would sparkle. Life would be good and they would be a family.   
But that’s not what happened. 

On the ride home, a bundle of nerves, Mocha vomited in the backseat of Silas’s Cadillac. Then as they led him into the house, he barreled into the living room and proceeded to hike his leg on every piece of furniture in sight. 

He cried for most of the first night. Even when Silas put him on their bed, he didn’t calm down until close to 3am when he cried himself to sleep. The nights that followed weren’t much better – at least not for Silas. Mocha claimed all cuddling rights to Belle and wedged himself between the two of them. One week in, Belle tried sleeping in the center of the bed, while Silas slept on her left and Mocha was on her right. That sort of worked.

“He misses his owner and old life.” Silas deduced. He had had more dogs in his life than she had, therefore he was more knowledgeable. “We just have to be patient and he’ll come around.”

They couldn’t give up on him, or he might die.

When they left him home alone, Mocha tore up the antique Persian rug in the dining room, the one Silas bought for a good price at an auction. What that dog did to the rug was unholy. From then on, Mocha accompanied one of them to work. 

Mocha never walked; he barreled, bumbled, ambled and stumbled. His swishing tail had a mind of its own and would knock nick knacks off whenever he moved. Unfortunately whenever Silas was in the room, Mocha would inevitably slam into his bad leg and knock him off kilter. The dog would prance along, unaware of the pain he had caused while Silas choked back curses. 

Two weeks after Mocha came home with them, Belle came close to losing their furbaby. As she was walking him, he pulled and the plastic buckle on the collar snapped. Belle tried to run after him, even kicking her heels into a tree row to catch up, but Mocha galloped off, disregarding her pleas. She was hysterical when she called Silas to let him know that Mocha ran off. Silas picked her up and they drove around Storybrooke for hours, unable to find their dog. When the sun began to set and the sky darkened, she and Silas headed on home. And there Mocha was, on the porch, giving them a perturbed look, as though they were the ones who had run off. 

Mocha was highly intelligent. Whenever she and Silas needed time alone and sequestered themselves in a room, Mocha would open the door. He’d put his mouth around the door knob and twist and turn it until the door swung back on its hinges. One time he caught them in the soaking in the claw foot tub. Taking a huge leap, Mocha dove right on top, splashing water and bubbles everywhere! The next time he opened the door on them, they were in their Chocolate Sex Room on the bed, sucking syrup off of each other. Mocha climbed up and pounced on top of them, thinking he was joining in on some game. 

Two months later, Mocha had begun to settle in. He fell into a routine, he was less destructive, he could be left alone for short periods of time, he no longer looked mournful. 

And then he got a hold of some chocolate. 

#

Belle and Silas were in the veterinary waiting room while two vets looked Mocha in the examine room. 

“It’s my fault!” She sobbed into Silas’s shoulder, hiccupping as she was unable to catch her breath. 

“No, it was an accident.” Silas lips brushed against her ear when he cooed to her. His hands moved up and down her back in languid strokes 

Belle had left Hershey Symphony Milk Chocolate bars on the kitchen counter. She had thought they were pushed back far enough, out of Mocha’s reach. Unfortunately she underestimated their furbaby. When she was sifting through the mail and turned her back for only a few minutes. Mocha must have gotten up on his hind legs and knocked down one of the bars. When she returned to the kitchen, foil and paper had been shredded and he was gulping down chocolate. 

She took him straight to the vet and Silas met her there. 

“But it is!” Belle insisted. “He’s going to die.”

“We don’t know that, sweetheart.” Silas said, his voice quivering, revealing how unsure of himself he was. 

The door opened and the vet Dr. Lee led Mocha out to them. Or rather Mocha led Dr. Lee out to them. 

Mocha practically frolicked, crashing into them when he reached them. 

“Mocha!” Belle cried out, scratching behind the dogs floppy ears. 

Silas stood and addressed the vet. “How is Mocha?”

“He’s fine.” The vet chuckled, shaking his gray head from side to side. “He only got a few ounces worth and it’s already passed on through. It didn’t hurt him, but this shouldn’t become a habit. Just be more careful.” Dr. Lee sighed and patted the dog’s backside. “He seems to have adapted well with you two. You’re just what he needed.”

Mocha’s wild tongue lapped at Belle’s chin and that’s when she noticed. Their furbaby’s eyes were twinkling…he was finally happy. 

Silas stroked the lab’s head. “Ready to go home, Mocha?”

Mocha got back down and did a little dance. 

Belle planted a kiss on the dog’s muzzle and then twisted around to kiss Silas. While they were not the most conventional family, they were still a family, and she wouldn’t trade Silas or Mocha for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of Mocha's antics are based on the antics of our dogs over the years. Also, our pets' vet makes a cameo: that's right, Dr. Lee is an actual person.

**Author's Note:**

> Belle's childhood dog Casey was based on my childhood dog Casey. May he rest in peace.


End file.
